All Around Me
by Jenny Joker
Summary: Fifth years Alexis Worthington and Draco Malfoy used to be the best of friends, but a certain house rivalry got in the way and tore their lives apart. Now it's changing yet again; they're going to learn it takes more than house colors to stop true love.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Ok, I decided to write a Draco/OC story. I'm really getting into this story so the next chapter will be out tomorrow night probably. Also, there's going to be some Harry/OC as well, and Hermione/Ron in later chapters. It will definitely get more interesting, I just wanted to give you guys the setting. Also, they'll be more details about exactly what happened to Draco and Alexis' friendship. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks!! Now on with the story :D**

"_Come on Lexy!"  
_

_A six-year-old boy with very light blonde hair was running along a cobbled-stone path that ran through a bright garden. Following a few feet behind him was a girl the same age as him. She on the other hand had dark brown, wavy hair that fell just past her shoulders. _

"_I can't run as fast as you Dray!" she yelled back to him. _

_Finally, the young boy stopped under a wooden gazebo in the middle of the large garden. He sat down on the bench, his not able to touch the ground. The little girl, Alexis Rae Worthington sat down beside him. "I'm not gonna play with you anymore if you keep leaving me," she said looking down at her little hands which rested in her lap._

"_Sure you will," he said in a matter of fact tone._

"_Really? Why will I?" she asked looking up at him with a newfound confidence and as much attitude as a six year old could muster._

"_Because I'm your best friend," he said._

_The little girl sneakily slid off the bench and quickly kissed the boy on the cheek before running off, giggling. The boy touched his cheek softly with a look of shock on his face. That shock soon turned to disgust as he wiped his cheek off. _

"_EWWW, Lexy! I could get dragon pox or something now!" he yelled before chasing after her again._

Alexis opened her eyes to the scarlet colored, four-post bed. She sighed sleepily, thinking about the dream she'd had yet again. She was no longer the six-year-old little girl who used to spend her summers running around outside the Malfoy Manor. She was a fifth year Gryffindor who, this past summer, spent her time with her best friends Hermione Granger and fellow Gryffindor Hannah Burke. The end of her summer was spent at 12 Grimmauld Place with her other best friends Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. Things had taken a definite turn since her first year when she had been sorted into Gryffindor; the first one ever in her family as a matter of fact. The rest of family consisted of Slytherins and some Ravenclaws.

She still remembered the look on Draco's face as she was greeted by the cheering scarlet and gold table. Even she knew of the hatred Gryffindors and Slytherins harbored for each other, and had to face the fact that she wouldn't be able to have the same friendships she'd held with quite a few of the people sitting at the Slytherin table.

Of course, that was four years ago and since then she'd managed just fine…sort of.

She sat up in her bed and rubbed some of the sleep out of her eyes.

"Finally, you're awake. I was just coming to wake you up!" came the voice of Hermione Granger.

"Sorry, Mione. What time is it anyway?" Alexis asked as she stretched and got out of the bed.

"Nearly 9:30," she answered as she grabbed some of her books. "Classes start in exactly an hour and half, and you still need to eat breakfast _and_ get your schedule," the bushy haired girl declared.

Alexis couldn't help but grin; Hermione was like her mother away from home. "I'll be down in about fifteen minutes. I just need to take a quick shower and get dressed," she assured her as she grabbed the clothes she would need out of her trunk and headed to the bathroom. Hermione nodded and went back down to the common room.

Alexis grabbed one of the towels that was sitting among a pile of others. She then walked over to one of the shower stalls and adjusted the faucet so the water was to her liking before stepping in. Once she was finished and felt more awake, she turned off the water and wrapped the towel around herself before going over to the sink and brushing her teeth. She used a drying spell, followed by a straightening spell on her hair before putting on her required uniform and robe. She stuffed all her books in her bag and sat it on her bed; she'd have time to come back up and grab the things she'd need after she got her schedule from Professor McGonagall. She walked out of her dorm and down to the common room where she saw Ron, Harry and Hermione sitting.

"Thank Merlin. I'm starving," Ron said as soon as he saw her and got up off of his plush chair, followed by the other two who were sitting on opposite ends of the couch. The four of them climbed out of the portrait hole and made their way down the stairs.

"Don't you ever think of anything besides food, Ronald?" Hermione asked in an exasperated voice.

"Sure I do; lots of things actually," he replied.

"Besides Quidditch and Beauxbaton's girls," Alexis said with a smirk. Ron looked down at his feet, now red in the face, muttering something about 'I like the way they walk.'

"Did you sleep well?" Harry asked her with a smile.

"Very well, actually. Considering you two kept me up until midnight." Ron, Harry and Alexis were up quite awhile after everyone else headed up to their dorms the night before playing Wizard's Chess.

"And that's your own fault. You knew you were going to have to wake up early for classes," Hermione said, her nose slightly raised.

Ron rolled his eyes. Alexis and Harry smiled at each other and shook their heads, knowing an argument was coming.

"You don't always have to be a party pooper, you know. It's not all about school," he said angrily to Hermione.

"I most certainly am not a party pooper. Excuse me for caring about my and your education," she retorted sounding offended.

"Yeah, ok. But you are a-"

But what exactly Hermione was Alexis would never know. She immediately blocked out the bickering, which was a rather common thing when this person came into view, as much as she hated to admit it. Draco Malfoy had just appeared.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Here's the second chapter. There will be more Draco in the next chapter as well as a "flashback." Remember, if you like the story please review! It's very much appreciated :D Also, if you would like to be somewhere in the story, just tell me in the review or message me about it.**

"Oh great…" Harry muttered.

"Well look who it is. Weaselbee, Mudblood, Pothead and Worthless," Malfoy said with his trademark smirk. He'd adopted that name for Alexis during third year when she told him off for allowing his father to send Buckbeak to death.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Hermione said as she pulled Ron away. He was ready to fight now; after all, he called her a Mudblood again! He was just looking for any reason to punch Malfoy in the nose and get that sneer off of his ugly face.

"I don't think I will. See, it's scum like you that makes my life so much more wonderful." He crossed his arms in a defiant way as his little posse, which had just appeared behind him, began to laugh.

"Nice one Draco," Pansy Parkinson said as she walked up and stood beside him.

"Oh great, now my upchuck reflex is coming into play," Alexis said just loud enough for her to hear.

Harry and Ron laughed, while Hermione scoffed in agitation. "Come on you guys. A teacher could show up in minute."

"Aww, is the wittle Mudblood afraid of a tweacher?" Pansy said in a horrible baby-like voice.

"You're a worthless piece of shit, you know that right?!" Alexis said angrily, taking a step forward toward Pansy.

"And you're a blood traitor, you know _that_ right," Pansy said, still standing in the same place. She was such a coward.

"You stupid bit-" Alexis began, but was stopped by a very sudden pain in her foot. She looked down and saw that Hermione had stomped on her foot rather hard. She turned her head to face her.

"Owe. What was that for?" Her foot was now going numb; thanks Hermione.

"Well look who it is. Starting trouble already Miss Worthington?" came the slow drawl of what could only be their Potion professor's voice.

"No, you see-"

"Ten points from Gryffindor," he snapped at her. Alexis could have sworn she saw him give a knowing smirk to his beloved group of Slytherins. "Looks like this is starting out to be a rather fun year," he said before storming past, his cloak billowing after him.

"Ah, see what I mean? You guys make my life so much better…and easier actually," Draco said before strutting past them with the rest of his cronies, knocking into Ron on the way. It was times like this when Alexis truly hated him.

"I suddenly don't feel as hungry," Ron said angrily as he plopped down onto the bench in the Great Hall beside Harry and across from Hermione and Alexis.

"What a shame," Hermione muttered so only Alexis could hear. She snickered quietly so as not to draw attention to herself.

She felt somebody sit down beside her and turned to see her other best friend, Hannah Burke, sitting there. She met Hannah during her second year during a Transfiguration class when she "accidentally" made Draco's ears turn into a pig's. She only got detention for two days, but also became the trio as well as Alexis' new best friend.

"Look who decided to finally wake up," she said with a big smile as she grabbed some toast and took a sip of Alexis' pumpkin juice.

"I don't see why everyone's making a big deal out of it. It's not like I slept til eleven or something. I think I got up at a rather acceptable time," Alexis said in her defense.

"I know, I know. I guess Hermione's just rubbing off on me," she said giving her a quick hug. Hermione smiled slightly. The three of them had spent all of July together traveling around England to all of the historical wizarding places. While Hermione wanted to see the truly historical things, such Holyhead which houses many well known wizards and the hometown of the Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies, Hannah was more interested in trying to sneak into some of the pubs in the hopes of meeting "some hot Quidditch player." That in its self pretty much explained her personality.

The five began talking about what classes they wanted to have first (and, according to Ron, how he wished he wasn't forced to endure the wrath of "Snivellus" in Potions.) This got a good laugh out of everyone except Hannah who didn't understand what that nickname meant. Alexis spent the next ten minutes telling her about everything that happened at 12 Grimmauld Place. Hannah started choking on her pumpkin juice, which received strange stares from some people at the neighboring Ravenclaw table.

"They called him Snivellus? I'm so going to call him that now!" Hannah said excitedly.

"Sure, if you have a death wish," Harry said in disbelief. He would never dare call Snape that. As much as he'd love to, he knew the greasy-haired professor would show no mercy, especially to him.

"Maybe I do," she said with a smirk. Just then Professor McGonagall showed up behind them with their schedules in her hand.

"Hello. I trust you guys had a nice summer," she addresed to them politely. Professor McGonagall had always been one of Alexis' favorite teachers.

Hermione turned around and began telling her about the places they went during their trip through England and they briefly discussed Hannah's behavior in the "Quidditch" town. Hannah, in response, just beamed proudly at her act.

The professor handed them all their schedules before wishing them a great first day of classes and heading down the rest of the table. They all eagerly opened them up. There was a brief silence as they looked over them and Ron gave a groan. He threw his schedule on the table, which accidentally landed in the applesauce.

Hermione picked it up with two fingers and said a spell, making it look as good as new.

"Thanks," he muttered and took it from her. "Do you guys have double potions today as well?" he asked before taking a bite of his syrupy waffles.

They all nodded. "Unfortunately. Ugh, I bet Snape specifically asked to have Gryffindors and Slytherins on the first day of school just to torture us," Alexis said with a frustrated sigh.

"And _double_ potions no less," said Harry.

They then began to compare their schedules and saw that they had Care of Magical Creatures first.

"At least we get to spend some time with Hagrid," Hermione said with a lifting voice.

"Yeah. Lets just hope he hasn't decided to bring a dragon to class," Ron said, causing everyone to smile. It really wouldn't surprise Alexis if Hagrid brought a fire-breathing creature to class. He was notorious for introducing dangerous animals to his students.

"Maybe it'll burn Malfoy though," she suggested with a laugh.

"That would be wicked," Hannah said with an approving nod.

"No it most certainly would not! Hagrid would definitely get fired after an incident like that," said Hermione.

"Pwarty pwoopa," Ron managed to make out with a mouth full of food.

Hermione gave him a disgusted look before taking a sip of her pumpkin juice, deciding not to even bother with him this time.

Alexis was talking with Hannah about what they thought would make a hilarious Care of Magical Creatures class when she got the eerie feeling that somebody was looking at her.

She looked up and instantly met a pair of icy blue eyes. Draco immediately looked back down as if nothing happened, his face a slight shade of pink. What made the whole situation even more awkward was the fact that he wasn't staring at her with anger or laughing at her, he was just…staring...with a blank expression on his face. She tried her best to shake it off as the five of them exited the Great Hall to get their books. She felt the same gaze burning into the back of her head as she walked away, but decided not to turn around this time; it was just give her more to think about.

They all walked up to their rooms and retrieved their books. As Hannah, Hermione and Alexis walked into the dorm which they shared, Alexis noticed Hannah giving her 'the look.' This meant that she was suspicious about something or was thinking about something serious. Alexis gave her a questioning look and Hannah walked over to her, Hermione's back to them as she took books out of her bag.

"I'll talk to you about it later," she told her in a quiet, calm tone, though Alexis could see something was bothering her.

She nodded and watched as Hannah walked back over to her bed and slung her bag over her shoulder. Alexis did the same and walked out of the room with the other two girls to go to Care of Magical Creatures. Now she had a whole new set of thoughts that were worrying her. Hannah was rarely ever serious. What could she possibly have to talk to Alexis about that bothered her that much?


	3. Chapter 3

The four Gryffindors headed down to Hagrid's hut where the Care of Magical Creatures classes took place. Ron, Hermione and Harry were talking about what a prat Seamus was being for telling Harry off the night before; Alexis, however, was too wrapped up in her thoughts to contribute her ideas. She was still feeling slightly nervous about the Hannah and Draco situation. She realized she couldn't dwell on this the whole period, though. Besides, it was probably nothing at all.

"Alexis? Alexis?...ALEXIS?!" came Hermione's voice directly in Alexis' ear.

"Huh? What is it?" she asked, the glazed look she had in her eyes now gone.

"I asked you, 'Where do you suppose Hagrid is?'" she repeated herself.

Alexis looked around. Hermione was right, Hagrid wasn't there. "Merlin, I completely forgot about that," she said, feeling horrible about the fact. They'd found out just last night that their Care of Magical Creatures professor wasn't present. Instead, an older looking lady was standing in his place with a big smile on her face.

"Hello there class. My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank and I'll be taking the place of Mr. Rubeus Hagrid until he returns. Now-"

"Excuse me, ma'am. But where is Hagrid?" piped in Dean Thomas.

"I'm not under the liberty of telling you that," she replied abruptly. "Now I'll return back to the lesson if you please. Today you will be learning about Bowtruckles. Can anyone tell me what they are?" she addressed the class.

Hermione's hand immediately went into the air and she began her usual reciting. "Bowtruckles are magical creatures that live in trees that are usually used for wands. They are pixie-like bark-coloured tree-guardians of about eight inches in height. They have knobbly arms and legs, two twiglike fingers on each hand and a barklike face with small beetle-brown eyes; a camouflage that makes them difficult to spot in their natural habitat. Even though they seem harmless, they have really sharp fingers; many woodcutters often get injured," she said happily.

"Precisely!" said Professor Grubbly-Plank. "10 points to Gryffindor," she said happily. "Now, Bowtruckles are generally shy creatures, but you become aggressive or they feel you are a danger to their tree, they will become aggressive as well. I'm going ask you guys to each get into groups of four, one Bowtruckle per group, and sketch them. You will also need to label it's parts, which you will find in your books. I'll pass them out now and the assignment is due our next lesson," she said and the groups began to disperse on the grounds.

It was a rather tedious assignment, but it gave the four friends time to talk before double Potions. None of them but Hermione finished the assignment by the end of class (granting Gryffindor an extra 5 points), and now it was time for the dreaded double Potions with "Snivellus."

They were currently standing in the cold hallway outside of the room, waiting for their teacher to arrive. Alexis had her arms crossed; she always thought these dungeons were too cold. Couldn't they allow some heat down here? "Cold, Worthington?" came the icy voice of Draco Malfoy.

"I could warm you up if you want me too," said Theodore Nott with a wink. Alexis rolled her eyes, not even trying to retaliate. Harry on the other hand had a whole other approach, as did Ron.

"What did you say!?" Harry questioned him angrily, taking a step forward with a look of complete anger and hate on his face.

"Calm down Scarhead. I would've asked you, but I just don't roll that way. Sorry," Nott said with a laugh.

Just then Harry lunged out him, causing both of them to fall to the ground. The other Slytherins were grinning, enjoying the drama. Alexis wasn't as pleased.

"STOP HARRY!," she said angrily. Looking back on it, she couldn't figure out why she did it. But, with no thought at all, she lunged into the middle of the fight. She immediately felt arms around her waist, pulling her up and away from the fight. She turned her head, expecting to see Ron, but instead she saw Draco. He was looking down at her with a look of worry on his face. "Why did you do that?" he questioned her sternly, not aware that his hands were still resting on her hips.

"I was just trying to make them stop." She looked down and saw his hands before taking a quick step back.

"What do we have here?" came the voice of Snape. "Fighting in the corridor is unacceptable," he said as the two fifth year boys rose to their feet, both looking shuffled. "Detention Potter. Tonight at 7," he said before opening the door for the students to come in. Alexis picked up Harry's bag for him and handed it to him. He snatched it from her before walking into the dungeons. She looked at Hermione who had a strange expression on her face, but smiled slightly at her none the less.

They took their regular seats on the left side of the room, while the Slytherins took theirs on the right. "Today you will be working with an assigned partner to create a Strengthing Solution. It will take two days for the solution to sit, but you will be able to get a majority of the work done today," he said. He turned around and picked up a piece of parchment off of his desk. "The partners are as followed, no exceptions: Granger and Longbottom. Weasley and Nott. Patil and Greengrass. Finnigan and Crabbe. Potter and Bulstrode…" Alexis watched as her friends, some reluctantly, made their way over to sit with their partners. "…Worthington and Malfoy…" Alexis' mouth dropped. He couldn't be serious. She sighed angrily and looked over at Draco who was staring at her with a look saying 'I'm not moving, so you better get your butt up and come over here.' She grabed her bag and walked across the room to where he was sitting, a smug look on his face.

Professor Snape finished with the list and waved his wand at the chalkboard in the front of the class. A list of ingredients and instructions were found on the board. "I'll go get the ingredients," she said after copying everything down in the notebook and walking to the front of the class.

"Aren't these the best assignments ever?" said Ron who was standing beside her.

"Oh yeah. Looks like our theory of Snape trying to torture us is true," she said with a sigh before wishing him good luck and walking back to her table.

While she was gone, Draco had started a fire and put the cauldron over it. They started cutting up their ingredients and added the salamanders blood, not uttering a word to one another. About halfway through Alexis decided to ask him a question that had been on her mind since the beginning of class.

"Why did you pull me away from the fight out in the corridor?" she asked him, looking down at her instructions.

"I'd rather not have had to seen a girl get clobbered in a stupid fight," he answered simply, although she could tell by his voice there was more to it than that. She nodded, however, accepting the answer for now.

"What did you do over the summer?" he asks her suddenly. She was sort of taken aback; were they actually have a normal conversation for the first time in four years?

"Umm. I traveled across England with Hermione and Hannah, along with Hermione's mom and dad to see different sights," she replied now looking over at him since they were supposed to allow the solution to set for fifteen minutes.

He got a disgusted look on his face. "You went with a mudblood and muggles on a trip?" he asked looking at her.

"Would you please stop calling her that. And for your information her parents are extremely nice. Not that you care," she said angrily.

He remained silent for a minute longer. "How's your brother?" he asked, deciding he liked talking to her more than he liked sitting in the awkward silence.

"Good. He's working with my Dad in the International Magical Cooperation department at the Ministry," she said looking back up at him.

"That's nice. My father said he saw him the other day there, but wasn't sure if he was working or not," he said looking up at her as well. Draco had always looked up to her older brother, Anthony, whom had graduated just last year.

"What was your Dad doing at the Ministry?" she asked curiously. She knew he didn't work there.

"Just…stuff. I just know that he had to talk to Fudge," he told her sincerely.

"Harry said he saw him there just before he had his trial."

Draco rolled his eyes at the sound of Potter's name; why did she always have to bring him up?

"Class will be over in five minutes. All of you are asked to add the last ingredient to your solution and bring your cauldron up here to me," said Professor Snape.

Since they'd already added everything needed for now, Draco volunteered to take up the cauldron since he was Snape's favorite. Alexis began cleaning up, but watched from her seat as Snape gave Draco and approving nod when he looked into their cauldron.

Alexis took the remaining ingredients over to the cabinet where Harry was. "How was Bulstrode?" she asked him carefully. From the way he acted towards her before class, she wasn't sure if he was angry with her or not.

"Fine. Malfoy?" he asked looking over at her. "I saw you guys talking, but wasn't able to tell by your expression if it was a good or bad coversation," he said with a small smile.

"It was fine actually. He was rather…decent. That is if you can even use that word to describe Draco Malfoy," she said with a small laugh as they made their way slowly back over to their desks.

"I'm sorry for snatching my bag from you earlier…I was just frustrated with Snape and Nott," he said apolegetically.

"It's cool, I understand," she said, nudging him slightly with her arm as an 'it's ok' gesture.

He smiled with relief. "Good. So what are you doing during free period?" he asked her nonchalantly.

"I have to go down and meet Hannah at the lake. She said she had to talk to me about something. But it shouldn't take long," she explained to him.

"Oh, ok. Do you want me to walk you down there. I mean, I'll leave when she comes," he put in the last part quickly.

"You don't have to, Harry. I'll be fine. Unless the Giant Squid suddenly decides to make an appearance," she said with a laugh.

He laughed as well. "Alright. Just kick and scream if he does though. Hopefully someone will hear you."

"With my luck they probably won't," she said with a smile. "I better go get my books," she said and made her way back over to her desk. When she turned, she saw that Draco was watching Harry and her with a look of anger. He looked down quickly when she turned though, so she wasn't able to study his facial expression to see what other emotions were there. She walked over to their desk and picked up her bag just as the bell rang. She met up with Hermione, Ron and Harry in the hall and told the two who didn't know that she had to go to the lake to talk to Hannah. They all agreed to meet up in the library when she was done where they could finish the Bowtruckle drawing for Care of Magical Creatures.

Alexis walked out of the huge entrance doors and down to the edge of the lake. She chose a spot in front of a tree that was a few yards away from the shore. She slipped off her hot robe and put it down beside her along with her bag before sitting down and leaning her back against the tree. She closed her eyes and alowed the wind to blow her hair softly against her cheek. It felt wonderful out here. She could here the water moving slightly and the birds chirping in the distance. The Hogwarts grounds were one of the most beautiful places in the world, in her opinion. She was only sitting for about five minutes before she heard someone approaching behind her. She looked back and saw Hannah.

"Hey," Alexis said as her best friend sat down beside her. "How were your first few classes?" she asked.

"Pretty good. Transfiguration was the same as usual and double Muggle Studies was pretty blah," she informed her.

"Yeah, Care of Magical Creatures was pretty cool. And Double Potions speaks for itself," she said with a smile.

Hannah nodded and looked down at her hands, which were resting in her lap.

"So what did you want to talk to me about…?" Alexis asked, now feeling the butterflys in her stomach.

"Well, this morning when you were talking to me in the Great Hall during breakfast…I saw the way Malfoy was looking at you and I really didn't like it," she said with a worried expression on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked. She figured it was going to have something to do with him.

"I mean, normally he's a complete jerk. But the way he was looking at you was…different. I just don't want him to try anything with you is all. Just promise me you'll be careful when you're around him," she said, sounding genuinely concerned.

Alexis smiled at her slightly. "Don't worry about me. I promise I'll be careful. But I know Draco won't do anything," she assured her. Hannah was the only one out of her close friends that knew of her and Draco's past.

She smiled back. "Good. I know this all sounds stupid, but as your best friend who knows what all looks guys give mean, it's my job to be concerned," she said.

"Yeah, I know," she said and got up from her position on the ground along with Hannah.

"And you have to swear to tell me if he does try anything," she said in her serious tone again.

"You'll be the first to know," she told her and gave her a hug. They grabbed their things and headed back up to the castle.

**A/N: Ok, this one was really long! In the next chapter Alexis will have a flashback giving more insight to her and Draco's past. ****I was planning on putting it in this one, but didn't want to make it extremely long. Please review if you like it. Reviews definitely make my day and make the chapters come out quicker! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Draco's POV

Draco watched as Alexis walked over to the cabinet with their unused ingredients. He couldn't help but think about the way she made him feel whenever she was around. If there was something he could do to get them back to the friends they were before, he would do it. He'd have to come up with something to get her away from her little posse, though. Maybe over Christmas vacation he could bring up the subject of inviting the Worthington's over for a party or something to his father. Their families were always really close. He'd have to write his parents about it tonight.

What he could never understand was why she chose to be friends with stupid Potter, the blood traitor Weasley and a Mudblood. She was raised pretty much the same way as he was, getting warnings from her parents to make sure she associated her self with the right people. After first year when she completely shunned him for the trio, he knew it would take a long time to forgive her, if he ever did at all. Now it was four years later and he was willing to do anything to get her away from them. He had overheard his father talking with other Death Eaters over vacation about The Dark Lord and what was to come in the very near future. He didn't want his former best friend to get caught up in all that; she was going to be an obvious target. Yes, she was a powerful witch, but no match whatsoever to the Dark Lord's wrath.

He looked back over at Alexis and saw she was walking over with Potter; oh how he wished he could just pull her away from him right now. He strained his ears to try and hear what they were talking about and heard his name mentioned. Probably talking about how 'horrible' he was. Not that it bothered him; he wasn't called the Slytherin Prince for nothing. He had a reputation to uphold, and his attitude towards the people around him just made it so much easier to be seen as the 'bad boy.' What made him angry was the fact that Alexis would see him as that. She was the only person he'd ever shown his true colors to; the colors that showed he was more than what his father made him.

He realized he was still staring at them when Alexis turned around and gave him a strange look. He quickly put his head down, feeling like a blundering idiot for getting caught staring. He picked up his bag just as the bell rang and joined the other group of Slytherins.

"…I still can't believe he attacked you like that," he heard Blaise Zabini tell Nott in disbelief. Draco didn't like to bother himself with his other 'friend's' problems. He would much rather be off by himself. The only reason he tolerated them was so he could have allies.

"I know. Guess he has a little crush on Worthington," replied Nott with an amused voice.

This had gotten Draco's attention. "Are you guys talking about Potter?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. Didn't you see the way he jumped to defend her? Seems you got some competition, Nott," Zabini said.

"Oh, please. I bet you I'll shag her by the end of the year," Nott said with confidence.

Draco watched Nott's expression to see if he could find any trace of humor; he could tell he was completely serious. There was no way he was going to allow this to happen.

"Come on. You're not actually going to waste your time on a blood traitor Gryffindor are you?" Draco asked in annoyance. Maybe he could convince him that the idea wasn't as good as he thought it was.

"Why not? In case you haven't noticed, she is pretty damn hot," said Nott. "Plus, she's a pureblood. It's a win-win situation, Gryffindor or not."

Zabini nodded in approval, as did Crabbe and Goyle, who rarely put in their two senses. Draco realized this was a hopeless cause; once Nott decided he wanted to do something there was no stopping him. He'd have to make sure he didn't accomplish, however. Maybe with a few more snide remarks about the thought, he could coax him into trying his little plan on someone else. He would have to be secretive about it, though. If the guys found out he actually had bit of feelings for Alexis, his life would be over. No, he this would take time. So now, he had two things to do: one, keep Nott away from Alexis. And two, make Alexis come back to him.

Alexis POV

Alexis was now sitting in the library with Hannah and the trio. She was doing her best to draw the Bowtruckle, but kept finding herself messing up, especially since she never really got a good look at the creature. It was jumping up and down, trying to escape the whole time during class.

"Ugh, this is pointless," she said and set her quill in the ink bottle to sit.

"Let me see it," Hermione said and snatched her parchment from in front of her to examine the drawing. "It's not bad," she said and put some final touches on it, using a spell to erase the arm and draw a new one. "There you go. Now all you have to do is label it," she said and returned to the book she was reading.

"Thanks, Mione," she said in relief. She used the book Harry, who was sitting beside her, had open and finished labeling the picture.

"So what do you think Hagrid's up to?" Ron asked the group of them.

"Probably something to do with the Order," Alexis said quietly, looking up from her work along with everyone else to engage in the conversation.

"That's what I was thinking. I mean, you heard Sirius, they're going to need as many magical creatures as they can get. Maybe he's off trying to get some for our side," Hermione suggested.

"Lets hope so. I heard You Know Who's numbers are growing again," Hannah said fearfully.

"They told us at Grimmauld Place that he used to have huge numbers at his command. It's only a matter of time before they realize he's getting strong again," Harry said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Alexis felt sorry for Harry; it must be a terrible burden to carry, knowing the Dark Lord was after you. She couldn't imagine how terrifying it would be, especially in the state the Wizarding World is in now. "Hopefully Fudge will realize what a stupid prat he's being and start to do something about all of this," she said angrily.

"Exactly. But the way Umbridge talks, he's probably not going to change his mind overnight," Ron said.

They all nodded in agreement. Alexis remembered that they would have her tomorrow for Defense Against the Dark Arts and wondered what kind of teacher she would be. "How do you guys think she'll be tomorrow?" she asked, wanting their opinion.

"Hard to tell. She's obviously not going to mention anything about You Know Who to us. She'll probably tell us it's all a lie," Hermione stated. "Hopefully she'll be better than some of the others we've had."

"Lupin was the best we ever had, no doubt about that," Harry said.

"Definitely. Too bad he's so busy with the Order," Alexis said sadly.

"And the fact that at every full moon he gets a little hairy," Ron said with a small smile.

Alexis smiled and looked over at the large clock on the wall. She remembered she still had to write her brother Anthony about how her first day of school was going so far; he was always very overprotective of her, and now that he wasn't in school anymore, he requested she write him twice a day. She grabbed her books and put them in her bag. "I've gotta go up to the owlery and write my brother," she explained to them.

"Ok, we'll see you at lunch then," Hermione said.

"Yeah, see you later," she said and walked out of the library. The owlery wasn't that far, thank goodness; walking around Hogwarts got rather tiring after awhile. She had been walking for about three minutes before she saw anyone. At the end of the hallway she could make out someone coming towards her, but couldn't tell who yet. As she got closer, however, she let out a frustrated sigh; it just had to be Theodore Nott.

She didn't like the idea of being alone with him in a corridor, especially after what he did earlier today. She put her head down as she walked by him, not wanting to make eye contact. She could feel his eyes burning into the back of her head as she walked away, so she quickened her pace slightly. She turned the corner and let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't done anything.

BANG! Suddenly she found herself thrown up against the wall by none other than Nott. "Didn't think ya could get rid of me that easily did ya?" he asked into her ear. She could feel his hot breath tickle her neck and a cold chill went down her spine.

"What's a pretty thing like you walking around the hallway all by yourself? Surprised you don't have your usually posse surrounding ya," he said looking down at her, lust visible in his eyes.

"Let go of me, Nott," she said angrily, trying to push him away. She found he was too strong for her though. He pinned her arms to her side and used his body to keep the rest of her pinned to the wall. "What do you want?" she managed to make out through her heavy breathing.

"I think that should be rather obvious," he said and kissed her forehead softly. He used one hand to pin both of her arms over her head now. He used his other hand to trail up and down her side, admiring her curves.

"Don't touch me," she said angrily and tried to wriggle free of his tight grip. This just wore her out more and she could feel the bruises beginning to form on her wrists.

"I've always thought you were the sexiest girl at Hogwarts. I'm willing to overlook the fact that you're friends with scum," he said as if she wanted this to happen.

She continued to glare at him, praying that someone would show up any minute now. She ceased her praying when her head was pushed back completely against the wall as Nott gave her a forceful kiss. She felt his tongue run against her bottom lip and almost gagged. "This would all be much easier if you'd just cooperate," he whispered huskily against her lips.

She then heard talking and giggling coming down the corridor and thanked Merlin as she heard the voices growing closer. Nott heard them as well and looked around the corner to see two first year girls making their way towards them. He looked back at Alexis, frustration visible on his face. This frustration turned to a smirk as he kissed her one last time. "I'll see you soon," he said with a wink and stalked off down the other way of the corridor. The first year girls walked past her, looking at her curiously before they too were out of sight. Alexis slid down the wall. She looked down at her hands and saw the red marks and his finger imprints all around her wrist. She couldn't help but think about what Nott would have done to her if those two girls wouldn't have shown up. She felt the tears form in her eyes and rested her head in her hands, wondering if he would hold true to his promise of doing that to her again. More importantly, if he would fully succeed next time.

**Author's Note: **

**I'm finally adding some drama to the story haha. Remember, if you like the story please, please, please review. It definitely makes my day. I see a lot of people are reading it, but they're just not reviewing which makes me sad : So, even if you just have some constructive criticism for me, please review. It would mean a lot to me. Thanks wonderful readers!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

**First off, I just want to give a big thanks to sweetxsmiley (whom this chapter is dedicated to, because she was my very first reviewer), amy-havok, lynnster and SeaNymph13 for reviewing, adding me to their favorite stories, and/or story alerts. You guys are amazing at life!! Remember, if you like my story (or even don't) please review and give me your opinions. Thanks wonderful readers!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from the movie. I do, however, own Alexis, Hannah and Anthony and any other characters I make up, as well as the plot. Now to the story!**

It took Alexis a few minutes to compose herself and wrap the fact around her mind that she was just attacked. She slowly rose up from the ground and began walking to the owlery. 'Should I tell someone? Would they believe me? Who could I tell?' These were the thoughts that kept running through her mind over and over again.

She certainly didn't want to write to her older brother about it. He would be down here as soon as he read the letter and it wouldn't be a pretty sight for Nott. No, she couldn't burden him with this. 'What about Hermione? She would be better to tell than the guys. Hannah…' She had sworn to her that she would tell her if Draco did something; she guessed that it still counted for Nott. She sighed as she walked up the steps; hearing the owls 'hoots' brought a strange comfort to her. She walked into the dark room and went to the back where she kept her owl, Tilly. She was a light brownish color and had sparkling yellow/green eyes.

Alexis smiled at her and opened her cage so she could stretch her wings a bit before her flight. She walked back over to the steps and sat down, taking out a piece of parchment along with her quill and ink.

_Anthony,_

_Everything is fine here so far. I've already had Care of Magical Creatures and Potions. The first of the two was nice. We had to draw Bowtruckles. The only odd thing about it was Hagrid wasn't here. Do you know anything about why he wouldn't be? Certainly the Ministry has caught drift of the news by now. The latter of the two was…interesting. You'll be happy to hear that I was partnered with Draco Malfoy. He asked about you and I told him that you are working at the Ministry. Snape is still a prat, of course. I think he was just born that way. Enough about me, though. How are things with Dad at the Ministry? Make sure you tell Mom and Dad that I'm fine and my first day back is going great. I'll talk to you later!_

_Love, Alexis_

She read over the letter before giving it to Tilly. "Take it to Anthony at the Minsitry," she told her. The brown bird than flew off with a last 'hoot.' She watched her until she was only a little speck in the sky before she got up and began making her way down the stairs. She had some time left before lunch, so she decided she would go down to the lake and benefit from some alone time. She walked over to the same tree she had sat at earlier that day with Hannah and sat down on the cool ground.

She sighed, thinking back to the letter. She had purposefully left out the fight before Potions as well as anything that had to do with Nott. She leaned her head back against the tree and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

"_What do you want Draco?" an eleven year old Alexis asked with her arms crossed. The two were standing in an empty corridor on the third floor, which was technically off limits. _

"_We haven't talked in two weeks and I miss you," Draco replied sadly._

_Alexis sighed. "The reason I haven't been talking to you is because you tried to frame Harry and Ron for sneaking out when you're the one who challenged them to a duel," she said angrily._

"_I know, and I told you before I was sorry. I didn't think you were going to end up going with them. If I did, I never would have challenged Potter and that blood traitor."_

_Her face went into a look of shock. "How dare you call my friend that?"_

"_Well it's true! Don't you remember the talk our parents gave us about who we should and shouldn't hang out with this year? The Weasleys were one of the top five," he said pleadingly._

"_Well things have changed, Dray. I was sorted into Gryffindor in case you didn't remember," his face fell at this statement; he definitely hadn't forgotten, "and I have to make friends, too," she told him._

"_Couldn't you ask Dumbledore if you could change houses? Be in Slytherin instead. I'm sure he'd let you after a little convincing," he asked, hoping that she would comply._

"_No. I was put into my house for a reason and I want to stay. I like the people in there," she said looking down at her feet. She was starting to feel worse and worse about leaving Draco behind. "I still want you to be my best friend," she told him, her big, dark blue eyes looking up to meet his icy blue ones._

"_I want you to stay my best friend, too. It's just I can't watch you associate with those…people all the time. I've seen you during meals; you're talking to them more than you talk to me now. And during classes, it's like I don't even exist," he said angrily._

"_I'm sorry! It's hard to talk to you when you're on the other side of the room-"_

"_Then sit with me for a change!" he yelled._

"_Don't yell at me! Look, if you have a problem with my friends then…then maybe we just shouldn't be friends anymore," she said before she turned around. _

_Draco reached for her arm "But-"_

_She pulled away from him before stalking down the corridor and out of sight, leaving a very distraught Draco Malfoy behind. _

Alexis opened her eyes and saw the Black Lake. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She had only been out for about 10 minutes. She sighed, thinking about the dream she'd just had. It had been in the middle of her first year that she decided to stop talking to Draco. He, of course, wouldn't settle for this. Everyday for a week he tried to stop her in the halls, get her attention in class and during meals; he eventually stopped trying after she ignored him each and every time. She had felt horrible about the whole ordeal; he had been her best friend since birth for Merlin's sake! But she knew she couldn't continue to be torn between her two very different groups of friends. It was hard enough having to deal with her parents obvious disappointment when she wrote to them and told them which house she had been placed into. They, of course, congratulated her, but it was nothing compared to when they'd found out Anthony had gotten into Slytherin his first year.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a growl and looked down at her stomach; she was much hungrier than she thought she was. She got up and started heading towards the castle. She stopped, however, when she heard a 'crack' come for the forbidden forest; its border was only a few yards away from her. She saw nothing, however, and started to walk again.

She'd only gotten a few steps when she heard yet another noise come from the same place; this time a rustling noise. She, of course, had to let her curiosity get the best of her, and walked slowly over towards the trees. She was now standing where the forest started. She could still hear the rustling noise. She took a deep breath and stepped in, looking around to see if she could see anything. She started walking in more when she saw nothing and decided to investigate; this was obviously one of the reasons why she'd been chosen to be in Gryffindor over Slytherin. She could now make out a person standing in the middle of a little clearing. It looked like they were feeding something, but she couldn't see what. She began to walk closer when a twig snapped below her feet, causing her breath to catch in her throat; now they knew she was there.

"Hello Alexis Worthington," said a very airy voice. Alexis walked closer and could see it was actually a girl she'd seen a few times in the hallway before. She was a year below her and in Ravenclaw, but she didn't know her name.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you. I was heading back up to the castle when I heard noises coming from in here," she told her apologetically. She watched with curious eyes as the blonde-haired girl continued to throw out raw slabs of meat, which would disappear almost immediately.

"I understand. I'm Luna, by the way. Luna Lovegood," she said, finally turning to face Alexis. "You're friends with Harry," she stated rather than asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. It's nice to meet you Luna," she said with a smile. "Umm…excuse me for sounding rude, but, what is it exactly that you're doing?" she asked her carefully.

"I'm feeding the thestrals. They get very hungry sometimes. Of course, they catch their own food. It's just nice to come out here with them," she said as she watched another slab of raw meat disappear; Alexis had the uncanny feeling Luna could see something she couldn't.

"What are thestrals?" she asked curiously, walking over to stand beside Luna.

"They are big, winged horses that pull the carriages every year from the station to the castle. They have a great since of direction and are attracted to the smell of blood. Some people believe they are a bad omen, but that's just superstition. Kind of like how people believe nargles are the cause of missing socks, when in reality, they actually hate the smell of them," she told her.

'Nargles?' Alexis thought, but thought better than to ask her what they were.

"I never knew that thestrals pulled the carriages; I always thought they pulled themselves. I guess it makes a lot more sense now," she said with a smile.

Luna nodded. The two girls stayed and discussed other creatures most people didn't know about (Luna finally gave an explanation about Nargles, which Alexis just nodded to.) "Would you like to walk with me up to the school for lunch?" Alexis asked her when they were done talking.

Luna nodded and threw the last apple she had a few feet in front of her. The two walked back up to the castle and into the Great Hall where pretty much all of the students were now eating lunch. The two received a few odd stares; people probably didn't expect to see Alexis Worthington and Luna Lovegood to even acknowledge each others existence. They bid goodbye to each other before sitting at their respected tables.

"I didn't know you knew Luna," Ron said in a sort of shocked tone.

"Well, I just met her today. I really like her," she said happily as she filled her plate up with food. Luna just had a sort of comforting affect on her; she was also very easy to talk to. "She told me all about nargles," she said before taking a bite of her mashed potatoes.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "There is no factual evidence whatsoever that such a creature exists," she informed her.

Alexis shrugged. "She had a fairly decent argument about it," she told her. She looked across from her and saw Harry smiling at her remark. She smiled back.

She glanced behind Harry's head and saw Theodore Nott staring at her with a hungry expression. Her smile fell and her body felt like it had just been dunked into ice. He smirked at her as if he knew the effect he had on her. He winked before going back to his food. Alexis suddenly didn't feel as hungry.

**What'd think? The next chapter will have this situation in Draco's POV. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks to all of you wonderful readers who reviewed! I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in a few days; I'm just really getting into my other story "Dance With the Devil." I most definitely have not forgotten about this one, though. Remember to review if you like it :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the 'Harry Potter' characters. I do own Alexis, Hannah and any other original characters, as well as the plot. On with the story! **

Draco's POV

Draco was sitting in between Crabbe and Zabini at the Slytherin table. He was listening to them discuss Quidditch and the first match of the season against Gryffindor. He hoped they wouldn't lose to them yet again; he was sick and tired of seeing Potter happy. But he'd heard Weaslebee was going to be on the team this year. 'That should definitely be interesting,' he thought.

He was taking a bite of his mashed potatoes as the hall's noise level dropped down a few levels. He looked around to see what was going on; hopefully another fight between McGonagall and Umbridge. Instead of seeing quarreling teachers, however, he saw Luna and Alexis walking together. Wow. That wasn't a pair he'd expect to see together. One, they were in different houses. Two, they were in different grades. And three, because Loony Lovegood wasn't exactly in the same social hierarchy Alexis Worthington was.

As they sat down at their respected tables, the hall slowly went back to it's regular chatter. He immersed himself back into the Quidditch talk, expressing his opinion on some tactics he thought would work.

He glanced over at the Gryffindor table which had become a sort of habit for him lately. What he saw made his heart lurch slightly. Alexis' face was much whiter than normal and she looked fearful of something. He followed her eyes to a certain brown-haired Slytherin whom was sitting two people away from him. He saw him wink at her before going back to his meal.

If he could, Draco would have walked over to him and punched him right in the face just then. He knew that would be _way_ too suspicious though; they were supposed to be "friends" after all. He just couldn't help but feel a sort of protectiveness over Alexis. He looked back over at her and saw she had stopped eating her meal.

What had Nott done to cause her to react that way to him? There was no way just his words from this morning could have such an effect on her. He found himself growing angrier and angrier as thoughts of what Nott was capable of doing to her flashed in his mind.

A few seconds later she got out of her seat and exited the Great Hall. All of her friends watched her walk away with baffled expressions. "Alexis?" he heard Potter question in concern.

Draco glared at the back of scar-head. That should be him sitting with Alexis, not Potter. He drew his attention from Potter to Nott and saw he, too, was staring at the doorway to the Great Hall with a smirk on his face. He took a few more bites of his food before getting up out of his seat.

Although he wasn't finished eating, Draco stood up as well just as Nott was passing by him. He stood in front of him, blocking his original exit plan. It looked as if they were getting ready to fight, but Draco smirked at him.

"Heading to the common room?" he asked him.

All of the Slytherins were staring at the two curiously, most getting obvious enjoyment of their "Prince" getting ready to tell someone off.

Nott looked a little taken aback and glanced back over at the exit before meeting Draco's icy blue eyes.

Draco raised his eyebrows at him as if saying 'your answer is…'

"Y-yeah, I'm going to the common room," he said, hints of anger and defeat in his voice.

"I'll go with you then," he said and took a step back so Nott could walk in front of him.

Nott looked angrier than ever now and got in front of Draco, who followed with a triumphant smirk on his face. There was nothing odd about walking back to the common room with someone. There was no evidence whatsoever that his motives had anything to do with Alexis. Nott, on the other hand, was going to get asked some questions when they got back to the common room; whether he liked it or not.

**Alexis' POV**

Alexis was currently sitting on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, her bag sitting beside her. It had been five minutes since she left the Great Hall; she just couldn't stand sitting there any more. She felt…violated in a way. It was as if Nott knew her every thought and how much he affected her. She hated the feeling.

She felt bad about leaving the others behind without an explanation, but how was she supposed to explain something like that? Sure, she could've made up an excuse, but that was the last thing on her mind when she was sitting there. All she wanted to do was get out of the room she was sharing with that ignorant asshole.

She didn't hear her four friends enter the common room; she was too intent on staring into the empty fireplace, her mind wrapped around something else completely. She didn't hear them as they said her name five times. She finally was shaken out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her knee and looked over to see Harry sitting beside her. He was looking at her with complete concern on his face. He moved his hand from her knee just as quickly as he put it on there.

"Hey…sorry, guys. I was just thinking…" she said and looked down at her hands.

"Really? Couldn't tell," Ron said with a smile. He was sitting on the coffee table in front her. Though he still expressed his sarcastic humor, Alexis could see the concern in his face as well.

"Why did you leave so suddenly during lunch?" Hermione asked her.

"Yeah, you didn't even tell us where you were going," Hannah said as she sat down beside Ron on the coffee table.

"Sorry…I-I just didn't feel well. I think I'm starting to catch something," she said rather convincingly.

Ron nodded. "You might want to go down to Madam Pomfrey, then. Ginny just got over a really bad cold," he told her as he leaned back on his palms.

Harry and Hermione didn't look as convinced, however. "Are you sure that was all?" Harry asked her. Alexis looked over at him, her blue eyes meeting his emerald green ones. She stared at him for a second or two before nodding. "Yeah, I'm sure," she said with a nod. He continued to look at her even after she turned her head away.

"Well, we better get to Transfiguration," Hermione said as she stood up.

They all followed suit and walked out of the common room together.

**Harry's POV**

Harry still wasn't convinced of Alexis' answer. Even now as they sat in Transfiguration together, he couldn't help but look at the brown-haired girl sitting beside him. It was his job to be concerned for her; he was her best guy friend, after all.

He sighed as he thought this. He wished he could be more to her than just that. He'd harbored this same wish for the past three years. Even last year when he was crushing on Cho, the thought of what he and Alexis could be was always in the back of his mind. Whenever he saw her, his heart would start beating a bit faster. And whenever he watched her walk away, his heart would ache with pain. Even if he knew he was going to see her in his next class, he hated seeing her walk away from him. He would much rather have her with him every second of every day.

She was the one person who was there for him the whole time during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. When Hermione and Ron paired up and stopped talking to him before the first task, she was the one doing her best to help him, telling him how much of a prat Ron was. She was the one who would meet him the first few weeks of the summer at the park by the Dursley's. She would sit outside with him on the swings for hours on end, just talking about…anything.

He remembered the way her hair blew in the wind as she sat on the swing, laughing at something he had said. She was one of those people who had that contagious laugh and whenever he saw her smiling, he couldn't help by smile as well.

The only thing that upset him when he thought of Alexis was whether or not she felt the same way about him. Sometimes he'd catch her staring at him, but that could be because of anything; she could've just been thinking about something. But in the back of his mind he couldn't help but have the little bit of hope that there was that chance she liked him. Maybe not as much as he liked her, but it was still something.

He wondered what she'd say if he asked her out…

There was a Hogsmeade trip next weekend. Sure, all of them would go together, but he wanted it to be just the two of them.

'Tonight,' he thought. 'I'll ask her in the common room. It's always really noisy in there, so no one would be able to tell what I'm saying except her.'

"…Potter?...Potter?!" he heard.

"W-what? Huh?" he asked and looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing in front of him. He felt his face turn slightly red.

"I said, 'Could you please pass out these mice to your classmates. One per student,'" she said in her usual stern manner before sitting the box in front of him and stalking off to the front of the class again.

He looked over and saw Alexis giggling, causing him to smile as well.


End file.
